Introduction to PSUs

PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings)

The government owned corporations are termed as Public-sector Undertakings (PSUs) in India. In a
PSU majority (51% or more) of the paid share capital is held by central government or by any state
government or partly by the central government and partly by one or more state governments. Several Public-
Sector Undertakings (PSUs) under the aegis of Government of India regularly provide tremendous
employment opportunities in various technical and management areas.
Maharatna PSUs: Maharatna is the status given to top public-sector enterprises where the companies have
the authority to make foreign investments of upto Rs 5,000 crores without taking any government approval.
To be qualified as Maharatna, the company should gain an annual net profit of over Rs. 5,000 crores, net
worth of Rs. 15,000 crores and turnover of Rs. 25,000 crores over past three consecutive years. At present
the companies which have Maharatna status are: SAIL, ONGC, NTPC, CIL, IOCL, BHEL and GAIL.
Navratna PSUs: Navratna status is conferred to the companies by the Department of Public Enterprises. To
be qualified as a Navratna, the company must obtain a score of 60 out of 100. The score is based on six
parameters which include net profit to net worth, total manpower cost to total cost of production or cost of
services, PBDIT (Profit before depreciation, interest and taxes) to capital employed, PBDIT to turnover, EPS
(Earning per Share) and inter-sectoral performance. Additionally, a company must first be a Miniratna and
have four independent directors on its board before it can be made a Navratna. The Navratna status gives
privileges to enhance financial and operational autonomy and empowers to invest up to Rs. 1000 crores or
15% of their net worth on a single project without seeking government approval. In a year, these companies
can spend up to 30% of their net worth not exceeding Rs. 1000 crores. They will also have the freedom to
enter joint ventures, form alliances and float subsidiaries abroad.
Introduction to PSUs

PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings)

The government owned corporations are termed as Public sector Undertakings (PSUs) in India. In a
PSU majority (51% or more) of the paid share capital is held by central government or by any state
government or partly by the central government and partly by one or more state governments. Several Public-
Sector Undertakings (PSUs) under the aegis of Government of India regularly provide tremendous
employment opportunities in various technical and management areas.
Maharatna PSUs: Maharatna is the status given to top public-sector enterprises where the companies have
the authority to make foreign investments of upto Rs 5,000 crores without taking any government approval.
To be qualified as Maharatna, the company should gain an annual net profit of over Rs. 5,000 crores, net
worth of Rs. 15,000 crores and turnover of Rs. 25,000 crores over past three consecutive years. At present
the companies which have Maharatna status are: SAIL, ONGC, NTPC, CIL, IOCL, BHEL and GAIL.
Navratna PSUs: Navratna status is conferred to the companies by the Department of Public Enterprises. To
be qualified as a Navratna, the company must obtain a score of 60 out of 100. The score is based on six
parameters which include net profit to net worth, total manpower cost to total cost of production or cost of
services, PBDIT (Profit before depreciation, interest and taxes) to capital employed, PBDIT to turnover, EPS
(Earning per Share) and inter-sectoral performance. Additionally, a company must first be a Miniratna and
have four independent directors on its board before it can be made a Navratna. The Navratna status gives
 privileges to enhance financial and operational autonomy and empowers to invest up to Rs. 1000 crores or
15% of their net worth on a single project without seeking government approval. In a year, these companies
can spend up to 30% of their net worth not exceeding Rs. 1000 crores. They will also have the freedom to
enter joint ventures, form alliances and float subsidiaries abroad.
How to Prepare for PSUs?

 PSUs Entrance Exam Question Paper mainly consists of two major sections:
Technical Section: Subject specialization of related stream
Non-Technical Section: General Awareness, Current Affairs, English Language, Reasoning &
Aptitude.
Hence to crack PSUs competitive exam, candidate should prepare for both technical and non-
technical sections, where 50% to 70% questions are from technical and remaining questions from
non-technical sections.
 Be aware of exam pattern of different PSUs like number of technical questions, number of non-
technical questions, negative marking, exam duration, marks per question etc.
 Always make it a habit of referring to previous year question papers.
 Prefer Reference books for derivations, equations, conceptual thought process, theory etc.
 Use shortcut techniques for numerical solving instead of traditional methods to save time.
 Practice previous year question papers and analyze the weak topics and concentrate more on those
topics. Always try to solve question papers in a given time frame to obtain an idea as how many
questions you are able to solve in given limits.

Group Discussion Round: Group Discussion is a crucial round conducted for shortlisted candidates. Good
communication skills, topic knowledge, team spirit, leadership qualities, patience level and presence of mind
are the major parameters to be considered.
Personal Interview: The personal interview is conducted to judge the personality of a candidate. Sound
technical knowledge, positive attitude, body language, good communication skills play an important role to
clear personal interviews. Candidates should be prepared with questions about their strengths and
weaknesses and answer all questions confidently.

PSUs Exam Pattern

Organization Post Exam Pattern Related links

 Written Test- Objective
Set A :Engg stream
(50 questions)
Set B: Engg stream www.bsnl.co.in
BSNL JTO
(50 questions)
Section C: General
Ability Test (20 questions)

Written Test –
GATE Exam
Set A: 55questions
(Engg Stream)
NTPC Executive Trainees Set B: 35 questions www.ntpccareers.net

(Executive Aptitude Test)

Negative marking: ¼ marks
Group Discussion
Personal Interview

Written test-objective
BHEL Engineer Trainees GATE Exam www.bhel.com/

Personal Interview

Written test
ONGC Graduate Trainees (Objective and Subjective) www.ongcindia.com
Psychometric test and PI
 PSUs Percentage Criteria
PSUs Percentage Criteria

PERCENTAGE
ORGANIZATION STREAMS APPLICABLE
GEN OBC SC/ST PH

Bridge & Roof

EE, ME, CE 70 70 60 60
co. (I) Ltd

BHEL EC, EE, ME, MT 65 65 60 60

ECE, EE, ME, CE, CS,

ONGC 65 65 60 60
IN, CH,

EC, EE, ME, EC,

NTPC 65 65 55 55
CS, IN

EC ,EE,ME,CS, IN, CH,

SAIL 65 65 50 50
Metallurgy, Ceramics

EC, EE, ME, CE,

IOCL 65 65 55 55
CS, IN

ISRO EC, EE, ME, CS 65 65 65 65

PGCIL EC, EE, CE, CS 65 65 Pass Pass

EC, EE, ME,

HAL Industrial, Production 65 60 60 60
CS, IN

EE, ME, CS, IT, C&I,

NALCO Civil, Chemical, 65 65 55 55
Metallurgy, Mining,

EC, EE, ME, CS,

GAIL 65 65 60 60
IN, CH

EC, ME, EE,

DRDO 60 60 55 55
CS, CH

DMRC EC, EE, ME, CE 60 60 55 55

GAIL ME, IN, CH 60 60 60 60

BPCL ME, CS, IN 60 60 55 55

 MTNL EC, EE, CS, IT 60 60 55 55

EC, EE, ME, CE,

HPCL 60 60 50 50
IN, CH

EC, EE, ME, CE, CS,

BEL 60 60 Pass Pass
CH, Telecommunication

EC,ME, CS, CH,

BARC Instrumentation, 60 60 60 55
Metallurgy, & Control Engg

EC, EE, ME, CE,

CS or M.sc in Chemistry
Indian Railways 60 60 55 55
or Applied Chemistry,
Metallurgy, CH

EC, EE, ME, CE,

ECIL 60 60 50 50
CS, E&I

EC, EE, ME, CE, CH,

VIZAG STEEL IN, Ceramics, 60 60 50 50
CH, Metallurgy

NHPC EE, ME, CE 60 60 50 50

EC, EE, ME, Civil,

SJVNL 55 50 50 50
IT

Telecommunication,
BSNL EC, Radio, CS, - - - -
EE, IT, CE

BHARATI PRASAR EC, EE, IT - - - -

PSUs Age Criteria

AGE CRITERIA
ORGANIZATION
Gen OBC SC/ST PH

29 years-General
Bridge & Roof 32 years-OBC
24 years 24-27 years 29 years
co. (I) Ltd 34 years- SC/ST

32 years-General
35 years-OBC
BHEL 27 years 27-30 years 32 years
37 years- SC/ST

35 years-General
ONGC 30 years 30-33 years 35 years 38 years-OBC
40 years- SC/ST

32 years-General
NTPC 27 years 27-30 years 32 years 35 years-OBC
37 years-SC/ST

35 years-General
SAIL 30 years 30-33 years 35 years 38 years-OBC
40 years- SC/ST

31 years-General
34 years-OBC
IOCL 26 years 26-29 years 31 years
36 years- SC/ST

33 years-General
ISRO 28 years 28-31 years 33 years 36 years-OBC
38 years- SC/ST

33 years-General
PGCIL 28 years 28-31 years 33 years 36 years-OBC
38 years- SC/ST

33 years-General
HAL 28 years 28-31 years 33 years 36 years-OBC
38 years- SC/ST

NALCO 30 years 30-33 years 35 years 35 years-General

 38 years-OBC
40 years- SC/ST

33 years-General
GAIL 28 years 28-31 years 33 years 36 years-OBC
38 years- SC/ST

33 years-General
DRDO 28 years 28-31 years 33 years 36 years-OBC
38 years- SC/ST

33 years-General
DMRC 28 years 28-31 years 33 years 36 years-OBC
38 years- SC/ST

31 years-General
GAIL 26 years 26-29 years 31 years 34 years-OBC
36 years- SC/ST

33 years-General
BPCL 28 years 28-31 years 33 years 36 years-OBC
38 years- SC/ST

35 years-General
MTNL 30 years 30-33 years 35 years 38 years-OBC
40 years- SC/ST

30 years-General
HPCL 25 years 25-28 years 30 years 33 years-OBC
35 years- SC/ST

30 years-General
BEL 25 years 25-28 years 30 years 33 years-OBC
35 years- SC/ST

33 years-General
BARC 28 years 28-31 years 33 years 36 years-OBC
38 years- SC/ST

22 to 35 age 22 to 35 age group +

22 to 35 age
22 to 35 age group +relaxable 5 years-General
Indian Railways group + relaxable
Group by 5 years 8 years-OBC
upto 3 years
10 years- SC/ST
 30 years-General
VIZAG STEEL 25 years 25-28 years 30 years 33 years-OBC
35 years- SC/ST

35 years-General
NHPC 30 years 30-33 years 35 years 38 years-OBC
40 years- SC/ST

35 years-General
BSNL 30 years 30-33 years 35 years 38 years-OBC
40 years- SC/ST

32 years-General
PRASAR
27 years 27-30 years 32 years 35 years-OBC
BHARATI
37 years-SC/ST
PSUs Salary Structure
ORGANIZATION SECTOR STATUS SALARY STRUCTURE

Oil & Natural

Petroleum &
Gas Corporation Maharatna Rs. 24,900-50,500
Natural Gas
Limited (ONGC)

Indian Oil Corporation Petroleum &

Maharatna Rs. 23,000-46,500
Limited (IOCL) Natural Gas

National Thermal
Power Corporation Power Maharatna Rs. 24,900-50,500
Limited (NTPC)

Steel Authority
of India Limited Steel and Iron Maharatna Rs.20,600-46500
(SAIL)

Coal India Mining

Maharatna Rs.20,600-46500
Limited

Bharat Petroleum
Petroleum &
Corporation Limited Navratna Rs. 23,000-46,500
Natural Gas
(BPCL)

Gas Authority of Petroleum &

Navratna Rs. 24,900-50,500
India Limited (GAIL) Natural Gas

Hindustan Petroleum
Petroleum &
Corporation Limited Navratna Rs. 24,900-50,500
Natural Gas
(HPCL)

Oil India Petroleum &

Navratna Rs. 24,900-50,500
Limited (OIL) Natural Gas

Power Grid
Corporation of Power Navratna Rs. 24,900-50,500
India Limited (PGCIL)

Bharat Electronics
Defense Navratna Rs. 16,400-40,500
Limited (BEL)

Hindustan
Aeronautics Defense Navratna Rs 16500-40500
Limited (HAL)
National Mineral
Development
Corporation Steel and Iron Navratna Rs. 16,400-40,500
Limited
(NMDC)

Mahanagar
Communication
Telephone Nigam Navratna Rs. 24,900-50,500
& IT
Limited (MTNL)

Power Finance Rs. 24,900-50,500

Finance Navratna
Corporation Limited

National Aluminum
Company Mining Navratna Rs. 16,400-40,500
Limited (NALCO)

Shipping Corporation
Shipping Navratna Rs.20,600-46500
of India Limited

Rural Electrification
Power Navratna Rs.20500-26500
Corporation Limited

Bharat Earth
Movers Limited Defense Mini-Ratna Rs. 16,400-40,500
(BEML Limited )

Mazagaon Docks
Defense Mini-Ratna Rs. 16,400-40,500
Limited (MDL)

Petroleum
Engineers India Mini-Ratna Rs.20,600-46500
& Natural Gas
Limited (EIL)

Bharat Sanchar Communication

Mini-Ratna Rs. 16,400-40,500
Nigam Limited (BSNL) & IT

Rs. 16,400-40,500
RITES Infrastructure Mini-Ratna

National Hydroelectric
Power Corporation Power Mini-Ratna Rs.20,600-46500
(NHPC) Limited

Airport Authority Civil Aviation Mini-Ratna Rs. 16,400-40,500

Of India Limited
(AAI)

Indian Space
Department
Research Govt. of India Rs. 15,600-39,100
of Space
Organization (ISRO)

Defense Research
& Development Defense Govt. of India Rs. 15,600-39,100
Organization (DRDO)

Bhabha Atomic Department

Research of Atomic Govt. of India Rs. 15,600-39,100
Centre (BARC) Energy

Department
Electronics Corporation
of Atomic Govt. of India Rs. 16,400-40,500
of India Limited (ECIL)
Energy

Delhi Metro Rail

Transportation Govt. of India Rs.20,600-46500
Corporation (DMRC)

How can I find electrical core jobs in India?

Vijayakumar Muthukrishnan, Electrical Engineering graduate, NIT Puducherry

Updated Mar 22
Hello friend,

Thanks for A2A. Here are some of the routes to land in a Electrical Engineering Core job in
India.

 Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)

o Indian Engineering Service (IES)
o Staff Selection Commission (SSC)
o Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE)
o Independent Recruitment Exams
o Campus Recruitments (Only in Selected Premier institutes like IISc, IITs and few
NITs)
 Private Companies
o Pre-Placement offer (Through Internship)
o Campus Recruitment
o Referral Recruitment
o off- Campus Recruitment
o Job Fair
PSUs:

PSUs in India provide excellent career start for freshers with a very high pay and allowances.

 IES:
UPSC conducts Indian Engineering Service (IES) examination yearly. IES crackers would get an
ultra premier career start. They will be absorbed directly as Executives in PSUs. Cracking IES is
not easier though. Yet, worry not my friend, what doesn't bend to hardwork?

 SSC:
SSC JE exam is conducted every year to fill the vacancies in some of the federal Government
agencies viz. Central Public Works Department(CPWD). Be vigilant of SSC notifications so that
you dont miss out any opportunity. Usually the applications are filled in October and the exams
are conducted in the immediate January.

 GATE: With a valid GATE - EE Score, one can appear for recruitment process of
most of the PSUs in India. You will start your career here as Executive Trainee/
Graduate Engineer Trainee/ Management Trainee and start moving to higher positions
after probabtion. Pays and Perquisites differ from one PSU to another but needless to
say one of the best career start in the concerned field.
List of some PSUs that accepts GATE- EE Score:

1. Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd.(PGCIL)

2. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.(NPCIL)
3. Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
4. Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)
5. National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd.(NTPC)
6. Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC)
7. National Hydro Power Corporation Ltd.(NHPC)
8. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL)
9. Bharat Electronics Ltd.( BEL)
10.Central Electronics Ltd. (CEL)
11.Oil and Natual Gas Corporation. (ONGC)
12.Gas Authority of India Ltd.(GAIL)
13.Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.(IOCL)
14.Coal India Ltd.(CIL)
15.Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL)
16.Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. ( BPCL)
17.Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd.(PSPCL)
18.Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd.(HPPCL)
19.Punjab State Transmission Corporation Ltd.(PSTCL)
20.Bihar State Power Holding Company Ltd. (BSPHCL)
21.West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd.(WBSEDCL)
22.Orissa Power Generation Corporation (OPGC)
23.Tehri Hydro Development Company Ltd. (THDC)
24.Indian Railway Construction Company Ltd. (IRCON International)
25.Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL)
26.Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES Ltd.)
27.Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.(HAL)
28.Mazagon Dock Limited( MDL)
29.National Fertilizers Ltd. (NFL)
30.National Aluminium Company Ltd.(NALCO)
 Independent Recruitment Exams:
Several PSUs conduct their own recruitment exams also to fill their vacancies.

Some of them are,

1. Indian Railways- Indian railways recruit Electrical Engineers for the post of Junior
Engineer(JE), Sectional Engineer (SE) and Senior Section Engineer(SSE) through
Railway Recruitment Boards(RRB) across the country.
2. All the State governmental Generation - Transmission Corporations (Tamil Nadu
Generation and Distribution Corporation [TANGEDCO] for an instance) except those
mentioned under GATE.
 3. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited(BSNL)
4. Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd.(CPCL)
5. All the State governmental Public Service Commissions such as Kerala State Public
Service Commission [KSPSC].
 Campus Recruitment:
Some PSUs do choose to visit few Premier Institutes in the country such as IISc, IITs, NITs and
BITS- Pilani to recruit freshers. So, feel gifted if you are enrolled in any of these institutions :)

PRIVATE COMPANIES:

Private companies have their own method of recruiting. Few majors do pay as high as PSUs or in
cases more than PSUs to attract fresh talents.

List of Private Power/ Energy firms in India: ABB India Ltd

1. ABB India Ltd

2. Adani Power
3. Ashok Leyland
4. Atkins
5. BGR Energy
6. Bhushan Steel
7. Crompton Greaves
8. DNVGL
9. Emerson Power
10. Essar Energy
11. Fluor India
12. Fortum India Ltd
13. General Electric ( Includes Alstom Grid and Areva Grid)
14. Havells
15. Jindal Steel and Power
16. JSW Energy
17. KSK Energy Ventures
18. L&T ( ECC, Power, Electric automation)
19. Lanco Infratech
20. Lloyd's Register Energy Consulting
21. Luminous Power systems
22. Orient Electric( CK Birla group)
23. Oriental Green Power
24. Philips
25. Pothigai Power
26. Rattan India Power
27. Real Ispat & Power
28. Reliance Power
29. Renew Power Ventures Pvt Ltd.
30. Robert Bosch
31. Rolls Royce Power Systems
32. Schneider electric
33. SGS
34. SIEMENS
35. Sterlite Energy
36. Suzlon Energy
37. Tata Consulting Engineers
38. Tata Motors
39. Tata Power
40. Tata Power links
41. Torrent Power
42. Toshiba Power
43. Waree Energy Ltd.
 44. Wartsilá India
45. Welspun Energy
46. Yokogawa India and many more.
 Pre-palcement (through Internship):
Internships in private companies are the best opportunities one can get to show off their talents
and skills to grab a job offer prior to pass out. Most of the majors release such offers.

 Campus Recruitment:
In India, most of the companies choose Campus hiring to recruit freshers. However, needless to
mention - popularity of your institute does play a role in attracting top MNCs visit.

 Referral Recruitment:
 Easiest way to ensure an interview call from an MNC or any other company for that
matter is using your contacts. If you ever wondered as to why your dream company is
not releasing job notifications with minimal experience requirements, chances are there
that they fill spaces with referral Recruitment. Because employers do believe in referral
than a complete stranger. This apparently saves employers time and money also. So,
widen your circle and use your contacts well.
 But, as far as I know, this type of referral recruitment doesn't work in governmental
institutions.
 Off Campus Recruitment:
o Most of the private companies conduct off campus recruitment/walk-ins also whenever
vacancy arises.
o You can follow Glassdoor, Linked Jobs, Jobs - Recruitment - Job Search -
Employment - Job Vacancies - Naukri.com, Monster Jobs - Job Search, Career Advice
& Hiring Resources and many other available online Job portals to know when these
firms keep their doors open.
o You are likely to receive calls from the companies or consultancies that recruit for the
companies on maintaining good/updated profile (not necessarily premium profile) in
the portals said.
o Note: Sometimes you may receive fake calls/ mails in the name of these portals from
some frauds to loot your money. So be cautious of such spammers.
 Job fair:
One can also attend job fairs whenever conducted, where one can get a chance to pursue core
career from private companies. However hardly any majors participate in such Job fairs. One can
always start their career in small firm and switch to majors with his/her Experience. To know
when these Job fairs are conducted, periodical checking of Online portals might help.

Good luck friend!